Banana and Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins

I know I haven't posted much lately, and here's why.  It's the New Year and of course we're trying to eat better in my house.  My husband is gluten free and I'm just sort of doing my own thing but all of us are trying to eliminate sugar from out lives.  So, sadly I haven't had much that's interesting to cook.  I mean, you probably don't need to read about me making a grilled steak or chicken but slowly I'm finding more recipes that we can all eat. 

Like this one. 

Sweetened with maple syrup (love), gluten free, and my daughter's favorite flavor combination!  We're all happy with this one. My daughter ate two right out of the oven, which she never does.  She even knew they were good for her!  I think the banana chocolate chip flavor won her over.  I also let her make these, pretty much all by herself (not the oven part) and I think that helped also (she's super picky).

I loved that these muffins stay nice and moist, yet have a great texture from the oatmeal.  I used old fashioned oats and there is a nice chew with those.  Plenty of banana flavor and chocolate chips. My favorite part about these muffins is that they are the perfect amount of sweetness, and there's no sugar in them!  This will definitely become a favorite in my house, for everyone!

Banana and Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins

Recipe from Organize Yourself Skinny

Ingredients

• 3 cups quick or old fashioned oats
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 cup (2 large) bananas, mashed
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup 1% milk
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips
• cooking spray

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º
2. spray a muffin pan with non-stick spray, set aside .
3. In a medium bowl add the oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder and salt and set aside.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, bananas, vanilla extract, and milk until smooth.
5. Add the oats into the wet ingredients and mix well, then add the coconut oil and chocolate chips and mix.
6. Fill each muffin cup with an equal amount of batter and bake for 30 minutes. Let cool slightly before removing to a wire cooling rack.
7. These can be frozen or refrigerated.

3-Ingredient Brownies

So, in my flourless dessert obsession continues.  I just can't help it!  Ok, so this recipe intrigued me because it's "healthy".  Well, in fact, it really is healthy.  I was leery, but still opted to give them a chance. 

My conclusion? 

They are surprisingly good.  I didn't add mashed banana which is one option to give them a sweeter flavor, and I used mashed sweet potato and not pumpkin so they weren't very sweet.  The frosting obviously kicks up the sweet factor and I'm anxious to try it with the banana just to see how sweet they can get and still be healthy.  

The texture is very dense and heavy.  The flavor is chocolatey, smooth texture and the sweetness comes from the frosting.  Very good.  I even shared some with my neighbor and she loved them.  It's kind of hard to believe they only have three ingredients and are actually healthy. 

3-Ingredient Brownies

Recipe from The Big Mans World

Ingredients

• 1 cup pumpkin puree or mashed sweet potato
• 1/2 cup drippy almond butter or any nut butter
• 1/4 - 2/3 cup cocoa powder

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º
2. Coat a small 4x6 or 6x6 inch loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray, set aside.
3. Place all the ingredients in a high powered blender or food processor or in a bowl and blend until fully incorporated.
4. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 15 minutes and then begin checking for doneness. Mine took more like 30 minutes to get done. Test with a toothpick inserted in the middle, when it comes out clean they're ready.
5. **1/2 cup mashed banana's in place of 1/2 cup pumpkin or sweet potato will make a sweeter brownie.
6. Frost with whatever frosting you like best. 

Apple Cinnamon Fruit Leather

It's finally apple season, my favorite time of the year is beginning.  I love fall.  I love everything about it. I especially love apple season. My biggest problem is that I go to the mountains and I pick a bunch, and then I'm having so much fun that I pick more.  So I end up with a ton of apples and I come home and bake, bake, bake. 

So, here is one thing I've made recently that I absolutely fell in love with.  Fruit leather.  You know, like the kind you had as a kid in your lunch box. It does take a little time but it's well worth it. The process it totally easy and if you can be patient you will be rewarded.  This fruit leather was so good. The same texture that you might be used to from the box we had as kids, but the flavor was so much better.  Mine didn't even make it off the try to be cut and wrapped and saved for later.  It was gone in like 10 minutes. 

Time to make more. 

Apple Cinnamon Fruit Leather

Recipe from Real Mom Nutrition

Ingredients

• 4 cups apples, washed, peeled, cored and chopped
• 1/2 cup water
• 1-2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Cooking Directions

1. Put the prepared apples into a medium sized sauce pan and add the water. Cook at a simmer for about 10 minutes or until soft.
2. Add the cinnamon and sugar and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Stirring occasionally.
3. Pour mixture into a blender and puree until smooth.
4. Pour onto a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with sides that has a silpat over it. It is vital that you get the mixture in a thin even layer on the pan. This will ensure it all dry's evenly.
5. Bake at 170º for 2-3 hours or until dry.

Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

Every now and then my husband and I try a new diet, or a new way of eating just to see if we like it or if it makes any difference in our general health.  Currently my husband is trying out a Gluten Free lifestyle, and therefore, so are the rest of us. 

So far it's been pretty easy because I haven't baked anything in a while anyway and pasta's are easy enough to find in any grocery store.  It wasn't until I happened to notice the banana's on the counter looking a little dark that I decided to give a gluten free banana bread a try.  I already had all the ingredients so it was easy. 

If gluten free it new to you, your grocery store might have a section already dedicated to gluten free items which makes life so much easier. 

This recipe is easy to throw together.  The bread doesn't rise much to don't expect a big loaf here.  But the flavor is very good.  It's soft, full of banana and chocolate flavor and not overly dense.  I love that the sweetness from the banana's came through so no sugar is needed.  I have to be honest, that surprised me a bit.  Sometimes you try a no sugar recipe and you can definitely tell, but not on this one. Definitely a great gluten free recipe that I'll be making again. 

Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

Recipe from AmbitiousKitchen

Ingredients

• 3 medium (1 1/4 cup) ripe banana's, mashed
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 2 whole eggs
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (diary free if needed)

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º
2. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray, then line with parchment paper and spray again.
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the banana's, vanilla extract and almond butter and mix well.
4. Add the remaining ingredients mix until combined.
5. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle, comes out clean.
6. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack for 20 minutes before removing from the loaf pan.

Creamy Crock-Pot Chicken Tikka Masala

At times during my life I've been one of those well organized people who plans dinner, makes the grocery list and only buys what I need. 

I'm not that person right now. 

We basically decide what we're having for dinner while we're eating lunch. Don't be like me. 

Luckily, this recipe was pretty easy to throw together into a slow cooker and have ready in 4 hours. My husband chose this recipe from Pinterest.  Since he rarely gets to be the one to choose the recipe I'm gonna make I jumped on this one.  Finally something new and good for you!

We both loved this recipe.  Ton's of flavor, most of the ingredients are in your pantry right now.  I did have to run out for a couple of items but overall I had most of it. I started cooking the rice (in the microwave) at the same time you begin to add the last couple of ingredients and it all came together at the same time.  

Obviously you don't have to serve with rice, it'll just depend on you personal tastes but I thought it was fantastic with rice. 

Creamy, tender chicken and the last minute addition of the lemon juice was perfect.  I didn't need salt at all, the lemon juice was perfect. 

If you're feeling adventurous tonight, you should give this recipe a try. Delicious! 

Creamy Crock-Pot Chicken Tikka Masala

Recipe from The Iron You

Ingredients

• 2 pounds chicken breast, cubed
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1 (29 oz) can tomato sauce
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp Garam Masala
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 bay leaves

• 1/2 cup heavy cream or full fat coconut milk
• 2 Tbsp arrowroot powder or corn starch
• juice of 1/2 a lemon

Cooking Directions

1. Place all the ingredients except the bay leaves, heavy cream, arrowroot powder and lemon juice in a bowl and mix together until the chicken is well coated.
2. Rub the inside of your slow cooker with olive oil.
3. Pour the ingredients into the slow cooker and place the bay leaves on top. Cook on low for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high.
4. Mix the heavy cream with the arrowroot powder and then pour into the crock-pot and mix together. Cook for an additional 20 minutes.
5. Pour in the lemon juice right before serving.

Chia Chocolate Chip Cookies

My husband was at work one day, when his Captain pulled out a bag of little Chia Chocolate Chip Cookies and was telling my husband how wonderful they were.  They're healthy, gives him energy, curbs his appetite, and tastes delicious.  After my husband tried one, he called me to see if I could track down a recipe.  Which, of course, I could.  I mean, I practically live on Pinterest after all.

During the course of making these cookies I discovered how I didn't have all of the same ingredients the original recipe called for, so I substituted for what I did have. The important ingredient being Chia seeds, which I have plenty of.

Chia seeds are so very good for you.  They can puff up to more than double their size if left in a liquid, which means if you eat them as just a regular seed then they will fill you up, because of all that puffing up they do inside your stomach.  So, eat a cookie, wait, and soon you'll forget about being hungry.

You can make these to be dairy free (if you can find dairy free chocolate chips) or gluten free if you follow the original recipe.  Mine are neither, but they are delicious! I love the chewiness from the oatmeal and the slight coconut hint I got from the coconut oil.  Obviously the chocolate chips are obvious.  I'm loving this recipe.  Great flavor, and texture with the added bonus of filling you up when you're starving and getting all the added benefits of the oatmeal, chia seeds and coconut oil.  My husband will be taking these on his trips from now on.

Chia Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe modified from huffingtonpost

Dry Ingredients

• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup brown pastry flour
• 1/2 cup cake flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients

• 1 whole egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup coconut oil

Cooking Directions

1. Mix the dry ingredients together and the wet ingredients together and then mix them together.
2. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
3. Preheat the oven to 355º, lightly oil a baking sheet.
4. Roll the dough into golf ball sized pieces and then flatten half way.
5. Bake for 12 minutes. Check on them in the oven and if they aren't spreading you might have to help them by pushing down on them with a fork.
6. Bake for another 2-3 minutes or until very lightly golden.
7. Cool completely on a wire rack before moving to a plate or storage container.

Flax Bran Muffins

This is the most frequently made muffin in my house.  I love it.  I've always loved bran muffins but the the grocery store kind tend to be full of fat, so I was on a mission to find a healthier version.  I found it.

The nice thing about this recipe is that it's full of flavor, dense and moist and yet very healthy.  You can change up some of the flavors if you want, to suit your own personal taste preferences. I've discovered that adding orange flavors (thank you Emily) brings this muffin over the top for me.

This recipe is easy to throw together in a big mixing bowl and stir together, no need to dirty up your stand mixer.  I refrigerate mine so they'll last longer, just pop them in the microwave for 10 seconds to have a nice warm muffin.

Just look at all the carrot pieces and raisins. So good and good for you.  I never get sick of this one for breakfast or snacking. 

For you Weight Watchers members, this is 4 SmartPoints per muffin. 
Flax Bran Muffins

Recipe from Foodista

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup unbleached white all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 3/4 cup oat bran or wheat bran
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup carrots, grated
• 1 large apple, grated
• 1/2 cup raisins (or any dried fruit)
• 3/4 cup milk (I use orange juice sometimes)
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (if you have orange extract it's yummy here)
• I also add orange zest if I have any oranges around. 

Cooking Directions

1. Line or spray a 12 cup muffin pan or line with cupcake liners (this recipe makes 15 muffins)
2. Preheat the oven to 350º
3. In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, add the first 10 ingredients and stir together.
4. In a small bowl add the milk, eggs, and vanilla together. Beat the eggs prior to adding.
5. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir just until combined.
6. Fill the muffin cups to the top and bake for 15-20 minutes. Use a toothpick to check for doneness.

Sugar Free Chia Jam

By far the easiest jam recipe you'll ever make.  No cooking, no pectin, no sugar.  Only two ingredients and you can eat it straight out of the jar if you want to. Seriously. Crushed fruit and chia seeds and that's it.

The chia seeds thicken up the fruit so it can become spreadable for peanut butter and jelly or topped on your hot cereal's in the morning.  Also great scooped into your morning smoothie. And chia seeds are super healthy for you, so that's a plus. Noted as one of the most nutritious foods on the planet they have ton's of fiber, protein, Omega-3's and various other nutrients.  You can buy them most places these days, they usually come in a see through container and are dry and very tiny. You can also find them online. And best of all they are usually reasonably priced.

I loved this recipe because clearly, it's very easy.  But also very healthy AND it tastes exactly like the fruit itself, the chia seeds don't add any flavor, just texture.

Chia Jam
Recipe from Time

Ingredients

• 1 cup crushed fruit
• 1 Tbsp chia seeds

Cooking Directions

1. Mix together and place in the refrigerator for a day or two in order for the chia seeds to plump up. Enjoy.

Applesauce Honey Banana Bread

Sorry for the lousy picture...

This bread is pretty darn good, and I wanted to get it posted ASAP.  Now, before you run off all excited about a healthy version of banana bread, keep this in mind.  It's HEALTHY, so it's not going to taste like your favorite sour cream banana bread, or some of the other sugar laden banana breads you might be used to.  However, you can feel good about eating this one.

The banana flavor isn't extremely strong, but it's prominent enough that you know you're eating bananas. It's moist (sorry to those of you who hate that word), dense and wonderful.  After years of eating the other not-so-healthy varieties, I was surprised at what a nice change it was to eat something that wasn't super sweet.  I really enjoyed this bread, I even toasted it and smeared peanut butter over it for a change up (yummy).

I hope you'll give this one a try.  It's good to try new things and this one is even good for you.

Applesauce Honey Banana Bread

Recipe from Just A Pinch by Linda Bailey

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat flour (I used white wheat)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 3/4 cup honey
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3 overripe bananas, mashed

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350º
2. Spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan with non-stick spray
3. In a medium bowl, add the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of your stand mixer add the applesauce and honey, mix to combine.
5. Add the beaten eggs and banana's and mix.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients until just combined.
7. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 60-65 minutes.
8. Test for doneness with a toothpick.

Homemade Greek Yogurt

We all know what a craze Greek yogurt has become, right? Well, did you know that most of the large store brands have tons of sugar and artificial stuff you don't need, or want?

I decided to try to make my own, and luckily I found a recipe on Pinterest that was just perfect.  I mean, I need easy.

If you've got some time and a large slow cooker you can easily make this recipe.  I do have to warn you that this recipe makes a lot.  So, I've been making recipes from Pinterest and I have yet to find one that I don't like.  Greek yogurt recipes are amazing. I would gladly make this amount of yogurt again, specifically so I can make other recipes with it.

Don't get me wrong, I love it for breakfast.  I've been trying all sort of different combinations.  Fresh and frozen fruit, granola, honey, peanut butter, maple syrup, etc.  I love them all.

(pictured above with blueberries, honey and cinnamon)

This is one of my best discoveries on Pinterest. Easy to do during the week while I'm homeschooling our daughter and easy to let culture while I'm sleeping.  Did I mention easy? No sugar added, no processed junk, no weird colors.

I'm in love with this one. I hope you can try it soon.

Homemade Greek Yogurt

Recipe From One Good Thing

Ingredients

• 1 gallon whole milk
• 2-3 cups powdered milk
• 1/2 cup live culture yogurt

Cooking Directions

1. Pour the milk into a large slow cooker (mine was 6 quart).
2. Add the powdered milk (to up the proteins) and whisk to dissolve.
3. Heat on low until it reached 180º.
4. Turn the slow cooker off and let the milk cool to 95-115º.
5. Put 1/2 cup of live culture yogurt into a small dish and add some of the warm milk to it, whisk until smooth and then add back to the slow cooker and whisk in.
6. Put the milk into storage containers of any size you like. I used multiple sized mason jars.
7. Place the jars in a cold oven with the oven light on and let sit for 8-12 hours (I did it overnight).
8. Now place the yogurt into the refrigerator and let chill before using.

Greek Yogurt Fudge Pops

This past weekend I decided to try making my own Greek yogurt, and guess what? It worked.  It also made PLENTY of yogurt.  I've been searching for recipes where I can use some of it up (since I read that freezing yogurt changes the texture and makes it separate).

I'll post the recipe for the yogurt soon, but I wanted to share this one with you since my daughter totally loves it. It might help that I used these cute Popsicle molds, but she loves the flavor too. What a great way to use up some extra yogurt!

Creamy, not too sweet, with lots of chocolate flavor.  I think I'll make yogurt again soon just so I can make some more of these for summer. :)

Greek Yogurt Chocolate Fudge Pops

Recipe from Baker By Nature

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chocolate almond milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups vanilla Greek yogurt (full fat is best)

Cooking Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, melt the chocolate chips over low heat until smooth and completely melted.
2. Remove from the heat and whisk in the almond milk until smooth.
3. Let sit for 5 minutes to cool slightly before adding the vanilla extract and Greek yogurt. Whisk until smooth.
4. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer.
5. Pour the strained mixture into your Popsicle molds and freeze for several hours. 

One Ingredient Ice Cream

As you might already know, I'm always on the lookout for recipes to use up the one's I have sitting on my counter getting browner and browner.  My daughter thinks the brown spots are poison and therefore will not touch them.  Oh sure I can sneak it into a smoothie for her but at her age now she likes to help me make the smoothies so this trick doesn't always work.

Banana ice cream works.

I was so amazed at how creamy this is with just banana's.  I mean I had no idea it would turn out this good! I'm probably going to purposely let the banana's get brown now just so I can make this.  There are so many different flavor combinations I want to try.  I'm so excited!  Heck, it's just banana's so have it for breakfast if you want.  Ice cream for breakfast!!

I love these little tricks.  I hope you love it as much as I do.

One Ingredient Ice Cream
Recipe from OneIngredientChef

Ingredients

• 4 (or more) banana's starting to brown.

Cooking Directions

1. Peel the banana's and place into a zip lock bag, then place in the freezer.
2. Freeze overnight.
3. Remove from the freezer and cut into 1/2" chunks and place into a food processor.
4. Blend for about 60 seconds until smooth and creamy.
5. At this point you can eat it, freeze it or add other flavors.

Mint Chocolate Chip  (shown above) - add a couple of drops of peppermint extract and a handful of chocolate chips.  Blend until combined. 

Check out the website link above for a couple more flavor options. 

No-Bake Energy Bites

I've tried a lot of these no-bake energy things and this one is my favorite so far. The others I've tried have all had banana in them and there's just something about it that isn't appealing to me.  Weird since I do like banana's.  Anyway, peanut butter is the way to go with these in my opinion.

The flavor is not too strong in any one area but they all blend perfectly together. I happen to love the chocolate chips in there.  I love how they change the texture a bit since they are cold.  The peanut butter flavor is right on and the oats make it chewy.  Great combination.

They are super easy to throw together (after you toast the coconut).  You'll be more energized after your workouts or even just a healthy snack. It is January after all so we're all trying to be a bit healthier and these will help.  Plus, they are surprisingly filling.

I'm glad I tried this recipe and for now, it's my favorite energy snack.

No-Bake Energy Bites
Recipe from bakingwithblondie

Ingredients

• 2 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 1/3 cups toasted coconut flakes (unsweetened)
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup ground flax seed
• 1 cup chocolate chips (optional)
• 2/3 cup honey
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Cooking Directions

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add all of the ingredients and mix well on the low speed.
2. Refrigerate the mixture for about 30 minutes.
3. Roll into 1 inch balls and keep in an air tight container in the refrigerator.

Kid Friendly Salmon

It's been a little hard to work on my blog this week.  School has started here and I do a online public school with my daughter and that equals very little time for myself.

That being said, this is a great dinner if you're trying to get your kids to eat more fish like I am.  This makes the salmon sort of sweet and savory at the same time.  My husband isn't the biggest fish eater either and he really loved this recipe.

It's easy to throw together and cooks in no time.  No super strong flavors and no spice so it's very kid (and husband) friendly. Great to add to the weekly menu!

Kid Friendly Salmon
Recipe from Tomorrow Farm Fiber Arts

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 lb fresh salmon, cut into 4 pieces

Cooking Directions

1. Mix the soy sauce, oil, brown sugar and garlic together.
2. Place the salmon in a baking dish and pour the sauce over the top. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Grill or broil over medium heat for 3-4 minutes per side until fish is flaky.

Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

Happy Friday everyone!

I'm glad to get this week over.  The cold weather has once again arrived and I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend.

During some of my many hours searching the Internet for recipe ideas, I stumbled up these yummy buffalo cauliflower bites.  I usually eat cauliflower raw but I love buffalo sauce so I thought I'd give this one a try.

The cauliflower gets dunked into a batter before you bake it.  Then you roll it around in a sauce as soon as it comes out of the oven.  Pretty much the same procedure as regular chicken wings although you probably don't use a "batter" with chicken.  Anyway, I thought they were delicious. You could pretty much put buffalo sauce on anything and I'd like it.

This would make a great snack for the Super Bowl.  I might even try it without the batter next time, just to cut off a few more calories.

Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

Recipe from Skinny Taste

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 large head cauliflower, cut up. About 6 1/2 cups
• 3/4 cup Franks Red Hot Sauce
• 1 Tbsp butter, melted

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400º
2. Spray a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with non-stick spray.
3. Mix the water, flour and garlic powder together to make a batter.
4. Dip the cauliflower into the batter until coated, you can scrape off the excess. Bake for 20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, mix the melted butter and Franks sauce together.
6. After the cauliflower comes out of the oven, coat in the sauce mix and serve.

Natural Detox Drink

Every single ingredient in this drink has intense nutritional value.  I'm sure you've all heard about some of them individually so combining them together is basically just health in a glass.  

I'm not gonna lie.  This tastes exactly like the ingredients that are in it.  I don't taste the lemon juice that much but that's because the apple cider vinegar sort of takes over.  Luckily I like that vinegar tang but if you're not a fan I would opt for the larger glass of water and chug it. 

I also suggest using barely warm water, otherwise the honey sinks to the bottom and doesn't mix in as easily. 

I saw this recipe floating around Facebook (Conscience Life News) but here are a couple links that are very similar. 

Dr. Axe

bembu

I'm obviously not a health expert so try at your own risk!

Here's what I've discovered after using this drink for a week now.  It definitely is an appetite suppressant.  That could be in part because it's a pretty large glass of water that I chug almost all at once but I don't start to feel hungry again for about an hour after I drink it. I have also noticed that when I started to think I might be getting a cold, this drink wiped out my symptoms.

Oh and one more thing, I haven't had any heartburn at all.  I was thinking that with all this acidity that I might, but I've been good to go. No problems.

Natural Detox Drink

Ingredients

• 12-16 oz water
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (organic is best, I use Braggs)
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice (organic if you can find it)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp raw honey (local)
• dash cayenne pepper (optional)

Cooking Directions

1. Mix all the ingredients together and drink 3x's a day, 20 minutes prior to breakfast, lunch and dinner.
2. Continue for 2 weeks.
3. After 2 weeks switch to drinking it just 1x a day before breakfast or lunch.

Paleo Lemon-Blueberry Muffins

As you may or may not know, I've been doing an eating plan called Whole30.  Whole30 is slightly different from Paleo, but it's close enough that you can use many of the same recipes. So, I happen to have a Paleo cookbook in my possession.  Lucky for me, because some mornings I just don't have time to cook an omelet or make some bacon.

Coconut flour is the key to this recipe.  If you're not having any luck finding any it's because it depends on your grocery store as to it's placement. I bought the Bob's Red Mill brand and I saw that some grocery stores had it in the flour section while others had a gluten free section and still others had a Bob's Red Mill section of some random isle. I'd just ask when you first walk in and save yourself some frustration.

There was some unapproved Whole30 ingredients in this recipe that I want to reveal to you now. You aren't supposed to have maple syrup or vanilla extract.  I've already done my 30 days and so I didn't feel that the minor cheats in this recipe would hurt that much.

This recipe is very different from a traditional lemon-blueberry muffin.  Good, but very different. We get so accustomed to the sweet flavors and the taste of all-purpose flour of regular muffins that sometimes it takes a while to get ourselves off those flavors.  The good news is that in my opinion this muffin had a nice sweet flavor, and the blueberries were perfect.  The lemon flavor was very mild and the texture is different but not in a bad way from a regular muffin. Not as fluffy but still moist.

Great alternative to the meat or eggs I have gotten used to with this eating plan.

Paleo Lemon-Blueberry Muffins

Recipe from Practical Paleo page 246

Ingredients

• 6 whole eggs
• 1/2 cup butter or coconut oil, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup grade B maple syrup
• 1 whole lemon, juiced and zest
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the eggs, butter, coconut oil, vanilla extract, maple syrup, lemon juice and lemon peel.
3. Sift in the coconut flour, sea salt and baking soda and stir until well combined.
4. Fold in the blueberries.
5. Line a muffin pan with muffin papers (natural parchment muffin papers work best) and use a 1/4 cup scoop to fill each muffin cup. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Sesame Roasted Chickpeas

I don't know if you're like me, but about once a month or so I crave Chinese food.  Sadly, Chinese food isn't on my diet.  Happily, you can make a sesame flavored chickpea in your own house and get all the flavor you crave without taking a nosedive off the diet train.

Another benefit to roasted chickpeas is that you can take them with you for a snack during the day.  It's hard to do that with sesame noodles. People in line at the post office line might not understand if you whipped out your Chinese food and set up a picnic while waiting in line for stamps.

An easier option (and healthier) is these roasted chickpeas.  There are so many different flavor options available, just search the Internet to find some.  Pinterest gave me this one.  I love Pinterest.

You bake the chickpeas until they are dry and crisp.  Then you flavor them right out of the oven and you have a delicious little snack you can take anywhere. I love these things and can't wait to try some new flavors.

Sesame Roasted Chickpeas

Recipe from Modern Parents Messy Kids

Ingredients

• 2 cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans) drained, rinsed
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 Tbsp sesame seeds

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375º
2. Rinse the chickpeas and place on a towel to dry.
3. Put in a single layer on a cookie sheet, bake for 45-60 minutes. Test one at 45 minutes, if it's still slightly soft in the middle, keep cooking. You want them crunchy.
4. While baking, combine the remaining ingredients .
5. When the chickpeas have come out of the oven, immediately toss in the oil mixture and serve warm or at room temperature.
6. Best if served that same day but can be kept up to 4 days in an airtight container.

Cucumber Salad

I'm so looking forward to the weekend.  I'm just sayin', things have been tough this week.

I want it to be fall. Yet it's still like 90º here. Ugh.

OK, enough complaining.  Recently we had our Labor Day party in our neighborhood and I was too hot and tired to actually bake anything.  So I threw this together and brought it.  This was easy, and heat friendly.  Nothing in here will melt or go bad from the hot weather, making it a perfect picnic food!

I found that it was even better the next day.  The vinegar really has a chance to soak in and get better and better.  Very healthy and "diet friendly", definitely one to remember.

Cucumber Salad

Recipe modified slightly from Betty Crocker

Ingredients

• 2 medium cucumbers, thinly sliced
• 1/2 pint grape tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1/3 cup cider or white vinegar
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• chopped fresh dill or parsley (optional)

Cooking Directions

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. Refrigerate and stir or shake periodically.
2. Keep refrigerated for at least 3 hours, overnight is best.

Alfresco Bean Salad

If there is one thing that is almost always in the refrigerator lately, this is it.  The great thing about it is that you can change it up to fit your mood or personal preference and the longer it stays in the refrigerator the better it tastes.

I had another very similar recipe that I made quite a few years ago that I referred back to in order to get this  recipe in line with my tastes.  Feel free to mix the veggies up to your liking and if you top it with cilantro right before serving, well it's just that much better.

I did a month of vegan eating in February and I practically lived on this recipe.  It's easy to throw together and have in the refrigerator when the snacking urge hits you.  I love anything with that vinegar tang to it and the crunch of the onion is perfect.  Not to mention the fiber and vitamins you get, I noticed that I felt less bloated and more energetic.  I attribute a lot of that to this salad, after all I did eat it at least once a day.

If you're feeling like you need a little healthy snack to improve your life, or just a quick side at dinner then you will love this salad. Oh, and it is bound to warm up sooner or later so this recipe is great for outside parties.

Alfresco Bean Salad
Recipe modified slightly from Taste of Home

Ingredients

• 1 can (16 oz) red beans (kidney), rinsed and drained
• 1 can (15 1/4 oz) whole kernel corn, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
• 1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 small container cherry tomatoes, quartered and seeded
• 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 large red onion, diced

Vinaigrette

Modified from here

• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp Franks Red Hot
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Top with the vinaigrette. Stir to incorporate thoroughly.
3. Refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving for best taste.